A Daddy's Thoughts on His Daughter's Graduation

Tomorrow evening my oldest daughter Kayleigh will put on a cap and gown, walk across a stage, receive a diploma, officially become a high school graduate, and enter a new season of life.

I am not sure that reality has sunk in for me yet. My little girl is becoming a young woman. Even as I type those words, my heart pauses for a second. On one hand, I am so excited for her and what lies around the corner in her life. On the other hand, I want to burst into tears, hold her close, and protect my little princess from the broken world that awaits.

My mind races to the giggles, vacations, closeness, wins, laughs, and everyday moments we have enjoyed. And at the same time it also recalls the hurts, tears, tough conversations, pain, and moments of distance we endured. As she prepares to transition into this new season, I wish I could multiply the good times and edit the not-so-good ones ... but then I realize ~ God has used both to make her the person she has become and is becoming.

Time can be a cruel taskmaster. We can't escape it. We can't alter, rewind, or erase it. It simply marches forward. And in the process, children grow up. Memories are created. Hurt happens. Moments are spent and we are left scratching our heads wondering where it went and how it happened so fast. And yet time is a friend. It allows healing to transpire. Hurt weakens its grip. Growth occurs. Time provides opportunity.

The gospel reminds us that the eternal God confined Himself to time. He entered our space. And in so doing, He entered our world of happiness and hurt, joy and suffering, peace and pain. Jesus placed Himself within time and faced the same mix of experiences and emotions that time generates in our lives.

And it is because of this gospel, that no matter what emotions and fears I face tomorrow night as the parent of a high school graduate, I know that she is safe in her Savior's love. She can't remove God's love from her. Time will march forward and she will face both the blessings and struggles of life. She will make wise decisions and foolish ones. She will feel secure and confident and she will feel vulnerable and defeated. Time will bring mountaintops and valleys. And through it all, Jesus will never leave or forsake her ... even if she leaves and forsakes Him.

No one prepared me for these moments as a parent. No one taught me how to hold on while letting go. No one coached me on how to trust that what you failed to do as a parent will be redeemed by a God who loves her even more deeply than her parents.

I love you Kayleigh Dean Hudson. I love you more than words can explain. I love you more than life. And when you walk across that stage tomorrow night, I will beam with pride and happiness on the outside while I am crying, afraid, and anxious on the inside - thankful that time allowed me the opportunity to experience life with you, to be your daddy, and for that I will be forever grateful.

* There may or may not have been a few tears shed in the drafting of this blog post - only the author will ever know.

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Other Apps

Popular posts from this blog

Several years ago I sat in a “vision” service of a local
church and heard the pastor declare to his listeners that while he was hanging
out in the woods recently God “spoke” clearly to him and revealed to him a 2020
vision for the church – in other words what their church would look like by the
year 2020. The pastor was clear that his vision was “without a doubt a clear
word from God.” Of course, this “God-given” vision included larger attendance
and giving numbers, more campuses in surrounding cities and bigger influence
locally and globally. I even remember vividly the pastor suggesting God informed him they would reach a certain numerical attendance goal based on
some type of misguided “tithing” principle where God would give them 10% of the
number of people who lived in the specific cities where they planned to launch
campuses.
I was somewhat shocked by the confidence with which the speaker made
his declarations based on the premise “God spoke” these promises to him. I
asked my …

When the doctor announced that we were having a son, I shouted for joy (literally). Don't get me wrong: I love my 2 daughters. They are my girls and they hold the keys to my heart in ways they do not even realize. And I was convinced a third daughter was my parental destiny. So when I learned I was the father of a son, my spontaneous reaction was sheer delight. This week, my son Zachary Devin Hudson turns 16. Here are a few my thoughts to Zac.

You are my son and I am proud to be your dad.

I love you Zac more than life. I am proud to be your father. The elation I felt on the day the doctor revealed I was having a son has exponentially grown and deepened. When I tell people that you are my son, I do so with pride, pleasure and excitement. The ways that you are a great son to me are more than I can list.

For example, almost every Sunday on our ride home from church when it is normally just you and me in the car, you encourage me. You tell me how awesome the message was that d…

We spent the last 3 Sundays at City Church deconstructing the historical, eternal, and everyday life implications of the resurrection of Jesus. This gospel-centered series was a great reminder of the centrality of the resurrection to our beliefs, hope, future, and daily living.

To watch the messages, go here.
To subscribe to or listen to the podcast, go here.

Here are a few of the truths that stood out to me.

Historical

- There is no form of historic Christianity that does not affirm at its heart that after the brutal death of Jesus Christ that the Father raised him to life again. The resurrection is woven into the structure of Christian belief, life, and thought - informing everything about our faith.

- The survival of the movement known as Christianity makes no sense outside of the resurrection of Jesus. Christianity did not survive because of the teachings, miracles, pithy sayings, or even the death of Jesus. It survived and thrived because people encountered a man alive who t…